


Playing the Melody

by RainbowSerenity



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Blind Character, Don't Judge Me, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-04-22 02:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14298336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSerenity/pseuds/RainbowSerenity
Summary: A particularly special customer comes into the coffee shop that Hope owns. She has a dog. And a piano. These things are actually connected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another one that's been on tumblr for awhile! I apologize for any inaccuracies, I did the best with what research I could do <3

If he’d asked himself what he wanted to do after finishing school, Hope could honestly say that ‘owning a coffee shop’ had never been something on his list at all. After all, his degree was in temporal science. That had nothing to do with coffee.

But the job prospects were annoyingly dim, and he needed _something_ to do with himself. He’d originally just worked behind the counter, but the old owner, a kind man named Sazh, had been so impressed with his work ethic that a few years later, simply handed the shop over to him like it was nothing.

Hope didn’t really mind. It was better than sitting around doing nothing, and the shop generally only got super busy during the summer months. The tourists needed their iced coffee, though he couldn’t imagine why someone would come to Bodhum voluntarily.

Maybe he’d been living here too long, to come up with a thought like that. Bodhum was a nice town. A _beach_ town, something a lot of people would love, he knew.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. He did. But it was so… _routine_. Hope would arrive at the shop early - he only lived a block away, so it was an easy walk, even at dawn - to open things up, check the schedule for the day, and spend most of the time in the office doing paperwork and ordering supplies.

However, on one Thursday morning, that routine got out of whack. _Both_ of the employees he’d scheduled called out sick. He didn’t really have a long list of people who worked for him, but luckily, after some calling around, one of them could come in after her morning class. It would have to do.

At least Thursday morning didn’t seem to be a big coffee time, or maybe everyone had gotten frustrated when he opened up the shop late. At any rate, he was standing behind the counter, just waiting for some customers, but mostly cleaning up the mess from last night. Apparently the closing crew didn’t seem big on doing dishes. Honestly, he couldn’t blame them.

When the bell on the door finally rang, indicating that there was a customer, Hope looked up and immediately noticed a big, floppy-eared dog with a golden coat nose its way into the shop. He sighed heavily. There was a huge sign on the window indicating how he felt about this.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no - ”

He immediately stopped when who was presumably the dog’s owner followed in. The first thing he noticed was the unusual shade of pink her hair was and how it was cut in a way that had most of her bangs falling in her eyes.

The second thing he noticed was her incredibly disapproving frown. “Do you honestly think I’d bring a dog into a coffee shop if I didn’t _need_ him? Don’t be an idiot.”

Hope flushed, immediately wanting to retort - why did someone _need_ a dog - but then he noticed the harness.

_Guide Dog At Work._

He felt like an insensitive asshole.

“I’m sorry,” he said in as sincere a tone as he could manage without sounding fake. He wasn’t sure if he was successful. “I didn’t see the harness. Of course service dogs are allowed.”

“It’s not as though I could see a sign otherwise,” she muttered. “I’ve never had a problem here before.” A pause. “Are you new here?”

“Uh, no. I’m the owner.” Hope debated on holding his hand out, but decided not to. She couldn’t see it, anyway. “Hope Estheim.”

The woman frowned. “Yeul’s talked about you.”

“She has?” Yeul was one of his better employees. She was a sweet girl and he liked her well enough, but she never said much to him. He couldn’t imagine her engaging in a long conversation about someone, much less about him.

“Yes.” A smirk appeared on her face for some reason. She tugged on the harness slightly, which must have been some kind of silent command for the dog to sit. “She says that you never stop working and that you need to get out more.”

Hope stared in utter disbelief. “What? _Yeul_ said that?!”

“Unless someone was impersonating her.”

“I highly doubt that.” Hope sighed and shook his head. “It’s not bad to work hard, you know.”

Something in her expression shifted at that, but before he could figure it out, a tiny smile quirked the corners of her lips. “No, I guess it’s not. As long as it’s for the right reasons.”

“…Right.” He didn’t need a lecture this early in the morning. “And right now I’m the only one here, so…” He gestured to the handwritten menu behind him. “What can I - “ He cringed as he realized what he was doing. Shit, did he have to read off the menu or something? Not that he’d mind at all, but now he - wait, she said she’d been here before, so maybe…

“Relax,” she muttered. “Do you happen to know what Serah’s usual is?”

“Serah?”

“My sister.”

Hope wondered if he was supposed to know that already, judging by the significant tone of voice, but he simply shrugged. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what it is. I’m not usually up front here.”

“No,” she agreed. “You’re in the back, working too hard. According to Yeul, anyway.”

Hope instantly decided that he needed to have a little talk with Yeul. “I can definitely make whatever it is, if you know it. I’m not completely helpless.”

“I never said you were.” There was that smirk on her face again. “I don’t know the name of it, but it’s something that involves too much raspberry syrup.”

He scratched the back of neck with a hum. “A raspberry mocha?”

“I think that’s it. She likes it with a lot of whipped cream on top.”

That sounded like sugar overload to him, but then again, who was he to question a customer’s order? “Coming right up.”

It took a little longer than anticipated, mostly because Hope was so used to simply brewing black coffee for himself. He rarely indulged in anything fancier than that, much less anything with whipped cream on top. When he finally did finish it, however, he felt rather proud of himself, grinning as he put a squirt of whipped cream on top, as requested.

“More.”

He nearly dropped the drink in surprise, practically forgetting that someone had even been there. “Huh?”

“It needs more whipped cream.”

Hope looked at the styrofoam cup in his hands, which was practically overflowing. “How can you tell?”

“I didn’t hear the whipped cream can for long enough.”

Trying to hide how impressed he was at that, he obediently continued until the woman called out for him to stop. At this point, the whipped cream was about two seconds away from falling over the side of the cup. He had no idea how she would get it back to her sister without spilling some all over herself. A part of him wanted to ask, but, well…that probably wasn’t his place. Instead, he put a lid on it just in case, even though he usually only put them on when requested. People typically threw them out less than a minute later, anyway.

“There you go.” He nodded towards the cup on the counter before realizing that duh, she couldn’t see it. “I mean, uh - should I hand it to you?”

“I need to pay you first.” She said this in a flat tone, like he was stupid for thinking otherwise.

After a moment, Hope shook his head, mostly to himself. “It’s on the house.”

_Now_ she seemed surprised. She wasn’t wearing dark glasses or anything, so he could see the emotion flickering in her eyes, which surprised him. Maybe it was so pronounced because she presumably couldn’t see anything else. “Is this out of pity?”

“Not at all.” And he was serious about that. “Consider it an apology for not noticing the harness. You and the dog are always welcome here.”

The silence that followed went on for so long that Hope wondered if he’d said something wrong again, but then his patience was rewarded with another slight smile. “Odin.”

“Excuse me?”

“His name is Odin.”

He chuckled. “Does he have any puppies named Thor?”

“Hell if I know.” They both chuckled, and she suddenly lifted her hand a bit. “But I suppose it’s ironic that my name is Lightning.”

Hope watched as her arm extended slowly, hesitantly, as though she was searching for something in the air. He abruptly realized that she wanted to shake hands and gently took hers, shaking it with a smile that he was sure she could hear. “Ironic, but fitting. Nice to meet you, Lightning.”

Some kind emotion that he couldn’t quite place flickered across her expression as she shook his hand, but it faded when she dropped it and reached for the counter. He watched with raised eyebrows as she deftly felt for the styrofoam cup Serah’s drink was in and curled her fingers around it. She tugged on the harness and Odin got to his feet, immediately going back to work, but they both stopped in the doorway just before leaving. Lightning raised the cup in thanks.

“Call me Light.”

–

Over the next couple of weeks, Hope starting coming out of his office more and more often, usually around the time when Lightning and Odin would show up. Sometimes she’d have her sister - Serah - with her, but most of the time it was just her. Well, her and Odin. Every single time Hope would appear at the counter after hearing the telltale click-click of dog claws on the floor, Yeul would smile a bit secretively and remind Hope about the extra whipped cream. He always put the drink down on the exact same spot on the counter, and to what seemed like everyone’s amusement, it was always on the house.

He couldn’t understand why he liked talking to her so much…besides the fact that she was sharp, quick-witted, and her occasional little smirky-smiles made his stomach do somersaults. He had no explanation for the smiles, but he supposed that her snarky replies came from how long she’d been blind, which he’d discovered during one these many conversations.

“How long have you…” he’d started to ask.

“Been stuck like this?” she’d muttered. Her expression spoke of someone who was extremely unimpressed. “You can just come out and say it.”

“I didn’t..” He’d cleared his throat. “I was just curious, since you seem so at ease. How long have you been blind?”

“Softening the direct approach with some humanity. Interesting.” There’d been another one of those smirky-smiles, but it’d faded slightly. “Since I was fifteen. About seven years now.”

“Really?” For some reason, this had surprised him. Seven years was a long time, yeah, but fifteen years was even longer to have your sight. “That’s…”

“I don’t want your pity.”

“…Impressive.”

Her mouth had fallen open slightly and somehow, she’d known exactly where to look to stare right at him. It’d made his stomach do flips again.

He hadn’t asked exactly _how_ she’d lost her vision, because after explaining that it wasn’t a total loss - she could still see some blurry shapes sometimes -she’d gotten visibly irritated and he’d hurriedly dropped the subject.

Honestly, Hope couldn’t say why he felt so drawn to her. A part of him wondered if it was because he was a little fascinated by her. It wasn’t as though he’d encountered many blind people in his life, or people with any kind of visible impairment, really. It was hard to know how to act sometimes.

But the more he talked to her, the more he realized that Lightning didn’t define herself by her blindness. She was just a person who happened to be blind. She was…she was…

“I’m screwed,” she muttered.

“Huh?” Hope shook himself out of his thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

Lightning was listening to something on her phone with a grimace. It was a little strange seeing her right now, because it was during the evening - almost closing time, in fact. She’d shown up out of the blue, claiming that she needed something caffeinated because some friends of hers were taking her out somewhere, and they tended to stay up ‘til dawn. That’d been two hours ago, however.

Not that Hope minded the company.

Instead of answering him, Lightning held the phone close to her mouth. “ _Call Serah_ ,” she ordered, and within seconds, Hope could hear the vague noise of Serah’s voice, though it was covered with Lightning groaned a moment later. “Voicemail,” she muttered, though when there was a rather loud _beep_ , she spoke at a normal tone. “Serah, Fang just called me and said she got a flat tire, so everything’s off for tonight, thank god. I don’t know where I’ll be, but I’ll let you know so you can pick me up later. Love you.” She paused. “ _End call_.”

After she’d put the phone away, Hope raised his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”

“Just like you heard. Friend got a flat tire.” She sighed heavily. “I would just walk home, but it’s getting late and I don’t like walking with this.” She held up a cane. According to an earlier conversation, she had it with her instead of Odin because it was obviously much easier to transport into a car. “Walking home, I mean. I don’t know.” A little groan escaped her. “Shit, and you’re about to close up the shop, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“Noel’s washing out some of the coffeepots,” she said absentmindedly, referring to one of the evening employees. “You said you only do dishes when it’s time to close up.”

Hope listened for a moment and he could indeed hear the sound of the sink running. “I guess,” he answered a bit awkwardly.

“Would you mind if I waited here? Serah’s doing a project with someone. Some class for for school. I don’t know how long she’ll be. I don’t want to keep you here any longer, but…”

“I could walk you home,” he offered. The words popped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Lightning was silent for a full thirty seconds before replying. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Seriously. It’s no problem.” He smiled, hoping it could be heard in his voice. “I only live a block away from here, so it’s not like walking around town is new to me. And it’s better than waiting around, right?”

“…Right.” Another one of those little smirky-smiles formed on her lips. “I guess if you don’t mind…”

“Not at all. Just let me finish closing up.”

“Sure.”

Lightning swiftly used her cane to find a seat and settled herself into it. It was a bit odd to watch her use it - it almost seemed as though she was uncomfortable with doing so. Maybe it was because it actually made her seem _disabled_ , however far that actually was from the truth. At least when she had Odin with her, people might assume it was a pet at first, like he had.

He sighed and sent Noel home so he could quickly finish the rest of the closing duties. When he went back out to Lightning, he smiled at the look on her face - intense, since she was probably listening to everything around her.

“I’m to your left,” he said.

“I know that.” She got to her feet. “Are you done?”

“Yes.” Hope headed to the door and she followed, the cane lightly clicking on the floor with her steps. “Where do you live?”

“The apartments on Pulse Court.”

“Which isn’t that far of a walk,” he replied teasingly. “Hang on, I need to lock up.”

She nodded and waited as he pulled his keys out and locked the door. After he put them away, he gestured to the sidewalk in front of them. “This way…” he started to say, immediately feeling like an ass.

Luckily, Lightning just seemed amused. “You _do_ know where Pulse Court is, right?”

“Yeah. It’s not that far from where I live.”

“Then go ahead.” Now she was the one who paused, like she wanted to ask him something. “Can I…”

“What is it?”

“Do you mind if I hold onto your arm?” To his surprise, a slight flush formed on her face. Was she embarrassed about asking for help? “Not that I think you’ll run off without me, but it’s easier that way.”

“Yeah. I mean - no, I don’t mind.” Hope held out his arm, brushing it lightly against her so she knew where it was.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. Hope simply nodded and slowly started walking, ignoring the way his stomach flip-flopped when her fingers curled in the crook of his elbow.

She was surprisingly deft with the cane, for as much as she claimed she didn’t like it. It swung back and forth easily over their path, although he noticed that anyone else using the sidewalk veered far out of their direction. He tried to tell himself that it was because they wanted to give her some space.

They didn’t talk much, but that was okay with him. Words seemed unnecessary with her most of the time. Even though Lightning couldn’t see him, it felt like she could see _into_ him at times, like she knew all of his thoughts before they even formed. Maybe it had to do with being blind, or maybe it was a magic all her own.

When they got to the apartments on Pulse Court, Hope wondered how she found her way back when Odin or someone wasn’t with her. To his surprise, she stopped suddenly, tapping the cane against the ground.

“What is it?”

“Building C, right?”

Hope looked up, and sure enough, there was a large sign in front of the building with a giant ‘C’ lettered on it. “Yup. How’d you know?”

“There’s a point here in the sidewalk that’s a little smoother than the rest of it.” Lightning tapped the ground again, and when he looked closer, Hope realized that he actually could see an imperfect smudge of cement on the sidewalk - probably from when a pothole had been filled or something. “And it’s only in front of this building.”

“Impressive.”

“Not really.” But she was smiling.

He grinned in return, hoping she could feel it, but it faded as they both stood there awkwardly. If she knew where her building was, surely she could get to her apartment without help. “Uh…”

“Did - ” she started to interrupt, hesitating before she continued, “did you want to come up with me? Like I said, it’ll be awhile before Serah comes back, and, well…”

Hope recalled how she was supposed to have gone out with some friends tonight. Somehow, he had a feeling that was a rare occurrence and she’d actually prepared herself for it. Maybe now she just didn’t want to be alone.

And honestly, neither did he.

“Sure,” he replied, squeezing her arm gently. “I’d love to.”

She smiled - one of the rare ones that made his stomach flip-flop - and nodded a bit. “If you’re sure.”

“Absolutely.”

They headed inside the building and he noticed that she used the cane less and less as they walked further up. She grabbed the handrail as well as any sighted person would and slowed in front of what was presumably her and Serah’s apartment as naturally as anything. Hope had no idea why he found this so fascinating. She must have climbed these stairs thousands of times, after all.

“Just one thing,” she said as she took her keys out of her pocket. There were several of them, and he noticed that the tops were covered in different designs of puff paint, probably so that she could tell them apart.

“What?”

Lightning slid a key with a striped design into the lock. “Don’t move anything. Or if you do, let me know immediately.”

“Okay…” he started to answer, but the word trailed off when she opened the door and he stepped into the apartment. Instantly, he could tell why she’d issued that warning - the place was completely immaculate. A part of him wondered which sister was the neat freak, but when Lightning drifted her hands against the wall only to rest her cane in a little nook, he realized that it was this way for a reason. It _had_ to be, so she could live in her own home without feeling like an invalid.

He heard the familiar click-clack of dog claws and smile when Odin came trotting out of a room down the hall. He barked once, his tongue hanging out of the doggy smile on his face.

Lightning smiled. “Odin, sit.” The dog immediately obeyed, but it was clear that he was excited. His tail was thumping against the floor and he was practically vibrating from his sitting position, desperately wanting to greet everyone.

She wandered away and came back with the harness a minute later, strapping Odin into it efficiently. It amazed him how well she did things simply by touch - she didn’t even turn her head to what she was doing. Not that it was necessary, of course, but it was still oddly fascinating to him.

“I need to take him outside,” she explain apologetically. “Do you mind waiting for a few minutes?”

“Not at all.”

She gave him another little smile and got up, grasping the harness. Odin immediately calmed down and looked alert, ready to look out for his master. Hope had known about guide dogs since he was a kid, of course, but seeing one in action was another thing all together.

They left after she promised to be back in a few, leaving Hope to look around the apartment. It wasn’t very big, but it seemed spacious enough because of how clean it was. There was a sofa, a dog bed, and a television - maybe Serah watched it? - off to one end of the wall. To his surprise, the other side of the wall was home to a large piano.

He wandered towards it, something in his chest clenching painfully. Did Lightning play it? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible. Maybe Serah did, but he heard during one of her infrequent visits to the coffee shop that she was majoring in education. Musical education, perhaps? Or maybe it was just a hobby?

He stared for so long that he hardly noticed when Lightning returned, her presence only becoming known when Odin barked. He jumped a little, blinking rapidly.

“Hope?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes?”

For some reason, his response seemed to make her relieved. “Where are you?”

“By the piano.”

She made a noise of acknowledgment and hurriedly took Odin’s harness off, disappearing to put it away. When she came back out, she walked right up to him, so easily like she could see exactly where he was. “You can sit down, you know.”

“I know.” He chuckled a little. “It’s just…” He paused, wondering how to word this. “Who plays the piano?”

Something flickered on her face, but it passed as quickly as it came. “Serah,” she replied. “Sort of, anyway. She’s not very good.”

Hope laughed this time, hoping she wasn’t offended. She didn’t seem to be. “Really?”

“It actually…” Lightning shrugged. “It’s actually more of a memento from our old home. Nobody wanted it, so we brought it back here. Serah wants to make use of it someday.”

“Good thing you kept it.” Hope stepped forward, pressing a key. A low note rang through the room. “It’s a nice one.”

“You play?”

“…I used to.” He’d stopped when he was fourteen, after the accident. After all, the lessons had been _her_ idea…

“Do you remember any of it?”

“Some,” he admitted. Another key fell under his fingertips. _Body memory_ , his instructor had always told him. That’s why you practiced - until you got good enough so to the point where you didn’t have to think about what you were doing and it came from you effortlessly. “Do you mind if I…?”

Lightning tilted her head slightly, like she was listening harder. “Be my guest.”

Hope pulled out the bench and sat down, his fingers hovering over the keys. He pressed down on a couple more. At least the piano was in tune, if nothing else.

For a moment, nerves gripped him and he worried he was going to make an utter fool of himself in front of Lightning, but then he played a couple of scales and those nerves simply melted away. His fingers moved in unison with what was in his mind. It was something that often happened when he’d done anything in his chosen science, but this was more…uplifting, somehow. The piece that he played was slow and sweet, the melody bringing a little smile to his face as he played. He could almost imagine his mother singing along with the tune, making up a song on the spot…

“That’s amazing.”

He jumped a bit, losing his momentum for a second before he stopped playing. “What is?”

“Your playing.” Lightning was staring right at him. Obviously she knew where the piano was and that was probably why she was looking there, but it honestly did feel like she was looking at _him_. Even her eyes seemed a little more focused. “It was amazing.”

“It was nothing,” he replied modestly. “I’m pretty rusty.”

“Still,” she argued. “How come you don’t play more often?”

“I never had time.” He swallowed heavily, unsure of why he wanted to say this now, of all times. Maybe playing that melody had lifted his heart a little. “I…my mom had me take lessons when I was a kid. I complained a lot, but I actually really liked it. I’d play for her all the time.” The little smile he got in response compelled him to continue. “But when I was fourteen, she…she died. It was a car accident. Head-on collision.”

For whatever reason, the words caused Lightning to stiffen. She stood a little straighter, turning her head away from him for a moment, almost like she needed to compose herself. “You didn’t play in school?”

“No. I was a temporal science major.” He shrugged. “Not much time for piano-playing there.”

“You still obviously remember a lot. You should play more.” Her tone became wistful. “Honestly, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play, but…”

“But…?”

“Serah has no idea how to teach me.” A little sigh escaped her. “And obviously we’re not going to find someone who’s qualified in this town. It’s basically useless.”

Hope stared quietly for a moment, glancing at the piano, then back up at her. “I can try.”

She blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Sit down. Let me at least try something.”

“Hope…” Lightning paused, as though she was trying to come up with an excuse to refuse. In the end, curiosity won out. She carefully slid onto the bench, sitting to his right.

“Okay,” he murmured. “This just popped into my head, but…” He rested his fingers on some of the keys. “Can I have your hand? Your left hand.”

She held it up hesitantly. Hope smiled and grasped it gently, as not to startle her, and lightly rested her left hand on top of _his_ left one. Obviously, his fingers were larger than hers, but nevertheless, they seemed to curl around his perfectly. It honestly felt like it was one hand instead of two, if he ignored the way her arm was stretched out across his chest.

Which, quite frankly he didn’t want to.

“Just move your fingers with mine, okay?”

“…Okay.” Lightning smiled softly, quickly catching on to what he was trying to do. Hope smiled as well, watching her face as he slowly pressed his fingers over some keys. He didn’t move his hand - not that she couldn’t follow along, he was sure, but this was experimental - but kept with the same three keys, creating a tiny little tune.

Gradually, he slipped his hand out from underneath hers. “Keep going,” he urged when she hesitated, but listened to him, pressing on the same keys herself. It was incredible to watch her expression light up as the notes flew through her fingers - her _own_ fingers. She wasn’t simply listening, nor was she just a bystander in a sighted person’s creation - she was making her own music, music that would make sense to anyone would would listen to it.

After what seemed like hours, Lightning stopped, letting her hand fall from the piano. A shaky breath caught in her throat. Hope realized she was trying not to cry.

“Thank you,” she murmured in awe.

“It was nothing.” _Liar._ “I can try to think of some kind of more proficient method to teach you, if you want. I mean, if you have free time.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.” His tone was earnest. While it was incredible to watch her do things that someone with their eyesight could do without thinking, it was even better to see her smile like that - to see her expression glow with amazement and her hazy eyes clear with happiness.

Why did he want to see it so badly?

“…If you’re sure,” she finally replied, another smile lighting up her face. “Maybe Serah can help me look up better teaching methods you could use.”

“I don’t know.” Hope reached for her hand again, carefully brushing his against it in warning before he grasped her fingers. “I was liking that impromptu method, come to think of it.”

She chuckled, lightly squeezing his hand back. The two of them remained in a comfortable silence until she turned more towards him, her eyes moving around as though she was instinctively trying to see where he was. He remembered that she could see blurry shapes sometimes - could she see whatever shape he made?

“Can I ask you something strange?”

He made a noise of acknowledgment. “Sure.”

“Can…” She bit her lip. Hope tried not to stare. “Can I touch your face? All I really know about what you look like is what Serah tells me.”

“You asked Serah what I look like?”

“…So what if I did?”

He smiled. Honestly, he’d been wondering if she would ever ask to do this, or if it was a misconception on his part that it was done at all. Either way… “Yes, you can. I don’t mind.”

She seemed relieved, for some reason, and pulled her hand out of his grasp so she could lift it. It hovered there awkwardly until Hope realized that she needed him to guide it to his cheek. Once her fingertips were against his skin, he stayed still, simply watching her.

Lightning’s other hand touched the other side of his face and her fingertips began to move, tracing his skin. They grazed over his smooth jaw, up over the sides of his nose, and mapped out his eyebrows. Her eyes fell closed at some point, as though she was painting a picture of what she could feel on the inside of her eyelids, her lips parted in concentration. Hope felt like his chest was going to explode.

“You know…” she said quietly as the pads of her fingers brushed against his hair, a surprised noise escaping her at how long it was, “I lost my mother, too. When I was fifteen.”

It took all he had to speak in a steady voice. “But didn’t you say that…”

“Yeah.” Her hands were slowly moving down the sides of his neck. “It was a car accident, like yours. Only I was a passenger. Serah was the only one who got out completely unscathed.”

“Light…”

“I actually woke up in the hospital on my birthday. Apparently I’d been out for awhile.” She was moving back over his face again, like she needed to memorize it all _now_. “My only present that year was my loss of eyesight. Worst birthday ever.”

“I…” He wondered why she was telling him this. Maybe because he’d opened up earlier and now she felt the need to share as well. Whatever the reason… “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Her thumb grazed his lower lip. She was staring at him - _really_ staring at him in that way that made him feel that she actually _could_ see straight into him. “I’m sorry, too.”

Her voice was soft, expectant. Sure, they were both sorry about the circumstances life had given them…but it was clearly that neither of them were sorry about the situation they’d found themselves in right this second.

“Light…” he breathed out, leaning in closer. She followed the noise and met him halfway.

The angle was a bit awkward at first - her lips were more on the corner of his mouth than anywhere else - but maybe it was intentional, because she relaxed far more when they managed to kiss properly than he would have thought otherwise. Her hands had moved back to his shoulders and she gripped them a little more tightly as their kiss slowly intensified. He felt rather than heard the little sighs that escaped her throat, the noise muffled in between their lips. A quiet, pleased noise came from both of them in unison when his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her close.

It made him wonder how he’d ever existed like this, without her lips.

When they did pull away, it wasn’t very far. Lightning smiled softly in a way he’d never seen her do and carefully rested her forehead against his. “Do you always kiss unsuspecting blind girls?” she murmured.

“Only if I like how their hands feel on my face.”

That answer seemed to startle her, but before she could reply, Odin trotted up next to them and rested his head on her lap. She jumped a little, but then smiled and moved away from Hope to pet the dog’s head, her hand moving in graceful motions. “Seems like he’s jealous.”

“Of me? I doubt it.”

“I don’t.” Lightning smirked, staring at him in that way that made him think that she actually _could_ see him.

Who knew - maybe in her dreams, she actually did.

–

The next couple of weeks went like a dream. Lightning and Odin would come into the shop to get Serah’s usual, and after they delivered it, she’d come back towards the end of the night and wait for Hope to lock up. Then they’d go back to the Farron’s apartment where Hope would usually give her piano lessons, but sometimes - especially if Serah wasn’t at home - they’d end up on the couch wrapped up in each other instead.

Lightning was a remarkably quick learner. Hope wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by this, because he’d already known that she was incredibly smart. Maybe it was because this was a learning process for him as well. He’d never taught anyone how to play the piano, never mind someone who was blind. In fact, she’d come up with the brilliant idea of using masking tape to find certain keys easier. They just stuck a tiny piece on there, and Lightning was able to feel the texture of the tape, and therefore, the right key.

It impressed him. _She_ impressed him. It was incredible to watch her face light up when she played a couple of scales flawlessly or when she found the right notes without his help. Every melody that came from her fingertips seemed… _better_ , somehow, like she was truly putting her heart into it.

And it wasn’t just the piano playing that was better, either. _Everything_ seemed a little brighter now. It was easier to work such long hours when he knew she would be waiting for him at the end of the day. The amazing kisses aside, he genuinely did enjoy spending time with her and honestly wanted to spend as much of it as he could by her side. It was becoming second nature to have Odin with them, or for him to ask where he should put something in the apartment so he didn’t mess up the order everything was in.

He just…

He _liked_ her.

“Seems like you’re in pretty deep,” Noel said to him one evening.

“She’s pretty damn amazing,” Hope confessed. They were standing towards the back of the shop, out of earshot of customers, but close enough so that they could see anyone come in. Or Noel could, anyway; Hope wasn’t paying much attention. “Everything she does, it’s just…”

“Geez.” Now Noel was laughing. “You’re in _way_ deep.”

“I don’t know about that.” Yes he did. Every piano lesson made him want to stay longer, every time they kissed made him wish that they could take it further, and the nights where she’d grab his hand with her free one when they took Odin on a walk made his heart want to burst. He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to be around her. He _had_ to.

“Judging by the dopey look on your face, you know _exactly_ how you feel about her.”

“My face isn’t dopey,” Hope muttered. Noel just laughed again, but Hope continued speaking a way that was, dare he think, _passionate_. “Seriously, she’s amazing. She’s picking up the piano so fast and she doesn’t even care when I get all technical about it. Maybe it’s the science major in me.”

“Uh huh.”

The bell rang, indicating that a customer was in the shop, but Hope paid that no mind. “I’m thinking of writing a paper about the correlation between blind people and sound - in this case, music.” Noel’s eyes widened. Was he impressed? “Of course, that means I’ll need to watch her more, do more research. It’s actually a fascinating subject.”

“Uh, Hope - ”

“And it isn’t as though she’s the first who can play an instrument, so maybe there’s something bigger there that I haven’t found out yet. Perhaps the notes sound differently when you can’t associate the sight of a key or a string with a sound…”

“ _Hope_.” Now Noel looked something akin to horrified. “Shut up.”

“What are you - ”

“ _Research_ _?_ ”

Hope froze. He knew that voice.

He just didn’t know how much she’d heard.

Immediately, he dashed out to the counter. Lightning was standing a few feet in front of it, Odin obediently sitting beside her. She had her head turned in the direction where he and Noel had been talking, but now tilted it slightly towards him when he began to babble. “Light, listen, let me explain - ”

“ _Research_ ,” she spat out again, like it was a dirty word. “Is that all I am to you? Some kind of experiment so you can get your fix, even though it’s not _my_ damn fault that your degree was useless?!”

“It’s not like that all!” he pleaded. “Please, let me explain!”

“You don’t need to,” she practically hissed out. Fire wasn’t burning just in her eyes, but in her whole expression. “This - this is worse than pity. I’m not some kind of freakshow for you or _anyone_ to…to _research_.”

“Light - ”

“Fuck you,” she blurted out, tugging on Odin’s harness. She must have heard him scrambling around the counter to dash over to her in an attempt to stop her from going, but she awkwardly held her arm out, heading right for the door and staring straight ahead. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Hope’s stomach did a flip-flop, then grew heavy like stone with regret as she left, anger in every step. He was too shocked to even try to run after her.

Noel came up to the counter after Lightning had left, staring at his boss’s slackjawed, pained expression, offering his own brand of wisdom.

“You’re boned.”

–

It was the truth, honestly. Hope had never felt so…so _desolate_ , and all because one woman was suddenly absent from his life. Lightning stopped coming by to pick up Serah’s regular, obviously, but it wasn’t just her missing physical presence that hurt.

No, what also hurt was the lack of music in his ears from her playing. From his attempts at playing, even though she was already proving to be much better at it than he was. It hurt that he rearranged everything in his own apartment to be immaculate and have its own space, just because he’d gotten so used to knowing where things go. It hurt when he saw people take their dogs out for evening walks, but they were all on leashes and not on special harness.

It hurt that he missed her so damn much. The pain was like a physical presence at his side - the side where Lightning had been for weeks. He missed the way her fingers curled in the crook of his arm, how she’d touched his face like she needed to memorize him a hundred times more, how her lips felt against his…how the melodies they’d made under their joined fingertips played right to his very soul.

Damnit. It was all just a huge misunderstanding. Hope didn’t see her as an experiment, or…what had she said, a freakshow? Sure, he found the way she dealt with her condition fascinating, but he’d grown to see her blindness as simply a part of her and nothing more. He’d never known her any other way.

He thought about what he’d said that day, to Noel, about ‘research.’

…No wonder she’d lashed out at him like that.

Hope groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face, leaning over the front counter at the coffee shop. He had to find a way to apologize. He _had_ to. Life was just… _empty_ without her, like he could only really see when he was around her.

Now _he_ was the one operating blind.

He glanced up when the bell rang, indicating a customer, and immediately stood up. His heart raced at the sight of pink hair, but…

“Serah?” he croaked out. Obviously, he hadn’t seen her either since that whole…fiasco.

“Yeah,” she replied, sounding a bit hesitant. “Look, I’m not here on behalf of Lightning or anything. I’m mostly here because the cafe on the other side of town doesn’t make raspberry mochas as well as you do.”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Automatically, he starting making the drink. Of course Serah was here for coffee, duh. This was a _coffee_ shop. He owned it and that was that. He had no business doing anything else, like…thinking about writing stupid papers or teaching anyone to play the piano. None at all.

After squirting on extra whipped cream, Hope handed the drink over to her, not caring if she paid or not. To his surprise, she did, and then gave him a nervous little smile. “Can I give you a tip?”

“A tip?” He frowned. “I don’t have a tip jar.”

“This one will be much more useful.” Serah took a sip of her mocha. “…She plays it all the time, you know. The piano.”

Hope stared. “What?”

Serah nodded. “She’s trying to teach herself how to do it, but she gets frustrated really easily. I mean, it’s kind of impressive, because it sounds like she _is_ doing pretty well at it. And it’s weird.”

When Serah didn’t elaborate, Hope knew he had to continue the conversation. “Weird how?”

The was a minute of hesitation before she spoke. “After the accident, Lightning learned really quickly how to be self-sufficient.” Serah was talking into her coffee, like it was easier to look at than him. “I guess you have to, in that case, because she had to learn how to live her life again.”

“I know,” he breathed out. He’d often imagine what it must have been like for her. What if he’d been in her situation? What if he’d been a passenger in his mom’s car when he was fourteen? Would he have been able to do what Lightning was doing now, just living her life like it was nothing?

Doubtful.

“She’s so determined to do everything by herself,” Serah continued. “And she’s good at it, too. You know, it takes a couple of months of training for someone to be able to handle a guide dog. It only took Lightning a few weeks. She puts all of her energy into living as normally as possible, and it doesn’t leave her with time for anything else.” She finally looked at him. “Neither of us would consider learning how to play the piano something that’s a part of normal life. But now…now she considers it a _part_ of her _life_.”

It took Hope a solid minute to understand what Serah was trying to tell him, but when comprehension dawned, it was as thought the lead in his stomach had faded.

Even now, after that horrible misunderstanding, after all that had happened…

…Lightning considered him a part of her life.

“Oh my god,” he murmured, looking utterly flabbergasted. “I - I just…”

“I just wanted to let you know that,” Serah said in a soft tone.

The thought that Lightning considered him to be so important to her was utterly mind-boggling. It was obvious that she enjoyed how she fit in his arms, how their lips meshed together so perfectly and how… _easy_ it was for them to be together. Being around her had added a song he never knew was sung.

Just before Serah could walk out the door, Hope dashed around the counter. “I need to apologize to her.”

She didn’t mince words. “Yes, you do.”

“I know.” And he did. He _knew_. “But not just any old way. I’m going to need your help.”

Hope wondered what the Farron sisters’ parents must have been like, because Serah’s smile was as dazzling as Lightning’s…except Lightning’s had something that went straight to his heart. He wanted to see it again. _Needed_ to. Luckily, Serah understood.

“I’m on it.”

–

Convincing Serah to get Lightning out of the house for awhile had been easy. Finding a piano to practice on had been easy. An apology was literally right at his fingertips.

It still didn’t stop his heart from pounding with nerves.

“She’ll be home soon,” Serah said, coming out of the hallway. Hope was already seated at the piano, staring at the tiny pieces of masking tape on the keys. “Do you want me out of the way?”

“Not if you don’t want to be,” he replied truthfully. They’d definitely made up for any lack of conversation between them before over the past few days. Serah felt like an old friend to him now, one who was totally delighted to play matchmaker. “I just…I just hope she accepts my apology. That’s all.”

“Honestly…” Serah leaned over and tweaked his nose. “She’d be a fool not to.”

Before he could reply, he heard the unmistakable noise of a key turning in the lock. He instantly froze, but Serah gave his shoulders a little squeeze. “Don’t wuss out now!”

Right. He wouldn’t. He _couldn’t_.

Hope didn’t start playing right away. Instead, he stared as Odin guided her into the apartment, his heart again pounding wildly. This time, it wasn’t from nerves - it was simply his reaction to seeing her again. Did she miss him at all? Had she longed for his presence by her side, their hands moving together as they created a melody all their own?

“Serah?” Lightning called out, stepping into the apartment.

“On the couch, sis.” Serah shot Hope a look, and finally, he obeyed.

Lightning was poised to answer her sister as she knelt down to take off Odin’s harness, but immediately froze at the sound of the piano. Hope’s first couple of notes sounded weak, pathetic, and he was sure her lack of reaction was out of disgust or surprise.

But then something amazing happened when he continued to look at her - the melody took over him and his fingers flew over the keys effortlessly. The music asked for forgiveness and made a promise of a better tomorrow. It was more than that, though - the longer he played, the more Hope realized that he couldn’t just see her. He could _see_ straight into her in that way that’d always mystified him.

Finally, he could see her…the way she’d always seen him.

At some point during his song, Serah had gotten up and taken Odin’s harness off the floor to put it away, smiling to herself as she disappeared down the hall. Hope barely noticed. All he could focus on was his plea of forgiveness, on _Lightning_ , and the way his chest constricted in the best possible way when she glanced in his general direction. She could hear the music, sure - but more importantly, she could hear what it meant.

Slowly, she walked over towards the piano, her hand finding the edge of it so she could feel for her normal seat easier - on the bench on his right. She slowly sank down, her face just staring straight ahead as she listened…

…Until she slowly lifted her hands, feeling for a key with masking tape, and joined in on his melody.

Hope relaxed considerably next to her. The music flowed from them easily, playing a melody that spoke to the two of them, meant for their ears and hearts only. It hardly mattered that Lightning couldn’t see him. She _knew_ him.

And dare he think it…he knew her, too.

It felt like hours before the last note faded away. The silence that followed was much louder than any music could have been. He was the one that broke it.

“I’m sorry.”

She finally turned her head in his general direction. “I know you are.” Her hands slid off the piano. “I heard.”

Though he was immensely relieved, he couldn’t help but keep on rambling. “I don’t know why I said all that stuff. I mean, yeah, I find the subject fascinating, but _you’re_ not a subject. You never have been. I love spending time with you and these past few weeks have been absolutely…”

“Miserable,” she finished. She smirked when he just croaked in surprise. “I know, Hope. They’ve been miserable for me, too. I just…” She shook her head, reaching out hesitantly to find his hand, resting hers on top of it. “There have been people in the past who have tried to use me just because I happen to not have my eyesight.”

“What?”

“Yeah. You know, getting to the front of lines, trying to get free stuff out of pity. That sort of thing.” She sounded disgusted, and for good reason. “That’s why I got so pissed off. I didn’t want you to be one of them.”

“I’m not…” he started to say, but as he recalled his conversation with Noel that day, he realized that he really _had_ sounded like he wanted to take advantage of her condition.

To his surprise, she smiled. “You’re right. You’re not.”

“I’m not?”

Lightning reached up with her free hand, gently pressing on some of the keys. “I heard it in your song.”

For the longest time, Hope felt utterly flabbergasted. How could she see into him so easily, without actually being able to see? How did someone like her even exist and how the hell had he ever gotten lucky enough to cross her path?

“Light?”

She made a noise like she was surprised to hear him speak. “Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

She turned to him fully with a smile. He knew her answer before she spoke when she slid her fingers in between hers. “Yes, you can.”

Hope wasted no time in connecting their lips, only bumping his nose against hers in warning. They melted against each other immediately, and somehow, he knew in that moment he really was truly forgiven. Good thing, because if she considered him an important part of her life…

…Then he was the same.

Even so, he had to make sure. When they pulled apart slightly for breath, he breathed out his question. “Is this okay? Me and you, I mean. Do…do you want this?”

A smirk formed on her face as she kissed him quickly. “I think it’s plain to see that I do.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, despite his exhilaration at her answer. “Was that a pun?”

“Maybe you’re rubbing off on me.”

“Can’t say I mind.” He grinned, about to capture her lips again, but then Serah came in the room. Judging from the huge smile on her face, it was clear that she’d been eavesdropping.

“What have _you_ two been doing?” she asked in a teasing sing-song voice. However teasing it was, though, there was a gentleness in her expression that must have been apparent in her voice, because it made Lightning smile in approval.

“Just another lesson.” Lightning turned to face the piano better, lifting Hope’s hand. “Right?”

He chuckled again, kissing the side of her head. “Right.”

They both ignored the way Serah squealed as Hope’s fingers moved under Lightning’s, guiding her to the right notes. The melody that came from their fingers thrilled him. It spoke of a promise, of a future he wanted to hold onto. It was clear that she wanted to keep it close as well, as evident by the smile on her face as they played on.

And on.

And on.


	2. Of Notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning can't even see and she still notices more than Hope does. Not surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request someone had a long time ago involving blind Light, from one of those "give me a sentence and I'll write a thing" memes floating around tumblr. The one for this was "I'm starting to wonder if I've been buying the wrong underwear," and they wanted it to be in this universe~*~

Getting intimate with her always felt like a new experience every time. Maybe it was because it still felt like she was trying to map out his body…or maybe it was simply because he’d never been so in love and infatuated with someone at the same time.

When they’d made love for the first time, Lightning wasn’t embarrassed for the typical reasons. Being blind, she didn’t really know what she _looked_ like - only what she _felt_ like.

“It’s a little weird sometimes,” she’d murmured as her fingertips had traced his collarbone. “The last time I saw my reflection, I was fifteen years old. I know that obviously I look different now, but my teenage self is still the mental image I have.”

Hope had unable to resist a shiver at her touch. “I can describe you, if you’d like.”

“As long as you’re not just inflating my ego.”

“No.” He’d chuckled and brushed his lips over hers. “I can describe you in one word.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” A kiss. “Beautiful.”

Of course, since that night, he’d taken it upon himself to describe _why_ he found her beautiful - her skin, her legs, her hair, the way her eyes sparkled even though she couldn’t see him - and soon, it seemed like his lips and touch were more than enough to convince her. 

Or so he thought.

“You know...” Lightning murmured one night as Hope carefully slipped her shirt off in between kisses. “I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been buying the wrong underwear.”

He paused after tossing her shirt to the floor.  “Excuse me?”

“You talk about my body a lot,” she smirked, carefully leaning forward. He remained still, her nose brushing his lips until she readjusted herself accordingly to kiss him. “But I’ve been trying to wear some nicer lingerie. It never seems to get a comment out of you.”

“Oh.” Curiously, Hope readjusted them so he could tug off her skirt. “I guess…I’ve never really noticed.”

“It’s true what they say, then, that men don’t notice those things.”

He chuckled. “I guess so...”

His voice trailed off when Lightning’s skirt was tossed to the floor as well. It was true that typically, he was so distracted by her to really notice what bra and underwear combination she was wearing, but right now…

“You got quiet.”

“Sorry,” he replied, still staring at the red and black lace lingerie set that adorned Lightning’s figure. “Just, uh...”

Though of course she couldn’t see where he was staring, something in his tone of voice must have given him away and she smirked. “I’m guessing _this_ one grabbed your attention?”

“Uh huh.”

“Good.” She rested her hands on his arms, deliberately dancing her fingers up to his neck. “Let’s hope they last the night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come say hi on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com)~


	3. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope has Plans with a capital P, which is also the first letter of Proposal, which he's hoping will go off without a hitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another request for this universe someone had awhile back, where an anon wanted to know how Hope would propose~

The morning of their third anniversary, Hope veered from his usual routine.

He supposed that for a typical couple, this wasn’t really a notable thing, but when your girlfriend – the love his life, really – was blind, routine was expected. Typically, they’d wake up around the same and he’d make coffee while she took Odin, her guide dog, outside. If they had no other plans for the day after that, he’d usually make breakfast and they’d laze around the kitchen.

More often than not, though, he had to go down to the coffee shop he owned and take care of things there. Most of the time she and Odin accompanied him and they’d wait for Serah to come in for her usually raspberry mocha.

This morning, however, he crept out of bed as quietly as possible and quickly took Odin out himself so that they wouldn’t have to worry about him later. Once they were safely back inside his apartment, he peeked in the bedroom to make sure she was still asleep and then went to make coffee and breakfast.

Well, it wasn’t so much _making_ as it was arranging things on a tray. Hope mused that maybe he should’ve learned how to make crepes by now, since they were her favorite thing to have for breakfast. Hopefully he’d have time to learn.

At least…having more time with her was the plan, anyway.

“Lightning?” he murmured as he stepped into the bedroom, trying not to jostle the tray so he could surprise her. There were definitely benefits to having a girlfriend who couldn’t see when it came to catching her off guard…in a good way, of course.

“Hmm?” Her eyes fluttered open, though of course they didn’t quite focus on anything. Still, her face glanced in his general direction, and as always, his heart did this weird little stutter in his chest. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Oh, y'know.” He grinned and carefully set down the tray.

Apparently it wasn’t carefully enough, because she frowned in confusion when he slid back into bed. “What was that?”

“Sit up a little more.” When she did, Hope sat right beside her, their thighs pressed together, and set the tray on their laps. “Breakfast in bed, that’s what.”

Lightning’s fingers traced the edges of the tray, placing everything in her mind. Her lips quirked into a confused little smile when she felt the crepe. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yeah. I special-ordered them at the bakery last night.”

“Huh.” She carefully broke off a piece and ate it, humming in contentment. “What’s the occasion?”

“What, I can’t be nice to my girlfriend?” While that was truth, there _was_ also a special occasion…she just didn’t know it yet.

“Not _this_ nice,” she teased. “Plus, you can’t stop smiling. I can hear it in your voice.”

“What can I say? You just…” Hope smiled again, his voice softer. “You make me really happy, Light.”

She turned her head more towards him at the words, her lips curving gently. He closed the space between them before she could even close her eyes, a little shocked at himself that this was their first kiss good morning.

Not that they lacked for kisses in general, but still.

“Drink your coffee,” he said when they’d pulled away. “You don’t want it getting cold.”

“You know me so well.” She chuckled, feeling for the mug and holding it up to her lips, sipping from it as fluidly as any sighted person.

The words struck a chord in Hope’s heart. He, well, _hoped_ that he did know her as well as he believed. Three years was a long time to be with a person, and even with the rough patches before they’d officially gotten together, he couldn’t remember ever being happier. It was a feeling he wanted to cling to for the rest of his life.

He hoped she’d agree.

After they finished breakfast, she turned her head to silently ask for another kiss, which he happy obliged. “Do you need to go down to the shop today?”

“No.” Hope had purposely given himself the day off and taken care of enough so that Noel would have no problems running the place for the time being. Not that Lightning knew that. “Why? Did you have something in mind?”

“Not particularly.” Her hands carefully reached out and he met her halfway to lace their fingers together. “I just think it’d be nice to spend the day with you. I guess that breakfast in bed put me in a good mood.”

_Yessss._ “I can’t say no to that.” He leaned in for another kiss with a smile, brushing their noses together in warning before their lips met. She’d told him many times that it was fine to take her by surprise when it came to a kiss, but he preferred to be considerate. “Actually…”

“Hmm?”

And it was was, one of the most nerve-wracking parts of today. Lightning was so perceptive that he was sure she’d instantly see through his suggestion somehow. “I found a new song you’d be able to play. I already marked the keys. Wanna try it out?”

Luckily, she didn’t seem to think anything was strange with his suggestion. Instead, her face lit up in that way it only ever seemed to around him. “Sounds good.”

“Great.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’ll take care of the dishes, okay?”

“Someone’s being helpful,” she teased. Dishes were usually her doing.

“Yeah, yeah. Just for today.”

She was still laughing under her breath as he took the tray and headed to the kitchen to load the dishwasher. The chore was juuust menial enough for his nerves to come flaring back again. What if she thought this was stupid? Or didn’t want anything to do with him after this? He didn’t think that would happen, but if three years of being with Lightning had taught him anything, it was to assume nothing.

A sigh escaped him as he left the kitchen and crossed the room to sit at the piano bench. Having one had been pretty much mandatory when Lightning had moved in with him, so he’d basically had to rearrange his entire living room. It was kinda nice, though, since it meant that the both of them could get used to a new space together. At least moving things around had forced him to clean and now he made every effort to keep things exactly as they were so Lightning had no problems getting around.

He glanced up when he heard Odin’s paws padding across the floor, smiling as the dog shuffled to the kitchen to eat. Seconds later, Lightning emerged, looking beautiful as usual.

“Blue shirt and black skirt?”

She nodded, making her way towards him, her hand held a bit out to the side. Typically, she didn’t like using her cane, never mind inside her own house, so they’d devised their own ways to help her get around. “I thought so.”

Hope smiled when her fingers brushed the piano and he tapped her hand, guiding her to the bench. It was comfortable, familiar. He sincerely hoped he wasn’t about to ruin it. “You look beautiful as always.”

She rolled her eyes. The expression was so perfect that sometimes he wondered if she’d perfected it before she’d lost her sight. “You’re biased.”

“Maybe a little.” He grinned and brushed their noses together before stealing a kiss. Another. And another…

“Quit distracting me,” she murmured, pulling away, but even her unfocused gaze was smiling. “I came here to play, Estheim.”

“If you say so.” He tried to laugh, but it came out a little weak. Oh god, his palms were sweating. Good thing he’d already marked the keys – using their tried and true method of masking tape so Lightning could feel them easily – or he never would’ve been able to pull this off. “We’re starting at the F chord.” The real song started a bit later than that, but this was a way to…ease her into it. Yeah.

Lightning’s fingers drifted soundlessly over the keys until she’d found one marked with masking tape. She pressed down, smiling as one lone note rang through the air, and then slowly continued. Hope occasionally covered her hands with his to guide her to the right notes, but she was doing quite well by herself. As usual.

The melody started out as a soft little tune that spoke of promises. It was something you could listen to for hours, he thought, because there was nothing about it that commanded you to concentrate on every note.

Unlike what was coming next.

Hope took a deep breath as he guided Lightning’s hands to the next keys. She tilted her head at his sharp intake of breath, but obediently played where he asked, the melody flowing into something else.

The tune was unmistakable.

_Dum, dum, da-dum…_

He watched her the whole time, taking in how her brows furrowed slightly. Luckily, she didn’t seem annoyed – just more confused than anything. Even though he could just _tell_ there was a question at the tip of her tongue, she kept playing until the last note faded and there was a buzzing silence.

“Hope,” she said, turning her head in his direction. Somehow, she managed to stare directly into his eyes. “That was the wedding march, right?”

“Um.” He cleared his throat, glad that she couldn’t see him reach into his pocket. “Yes.”

“Why? Are we playing this at some wedding?”

“No. I mean, _we_ won’t be, because that’d be weird. I think. I don’t know.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you - ”

Her words were cut off when he gently took her hand and placed an open box in her palm. Carefully, he guided her other hand to feel the ring there. It was different from a typical engagement ring – this one was a platinum band molded into the shape of a rose with a small diamond in its center. Lightning didn’t wear much jewelry, but he’d wanted this to be completely unmistakable, so she’d never confuse it with any other ring and could describe it by touch in an instant.

“Light,” he murmured when her eyes widened in realization. She knew _exactly_ what this ring was supposed to be. “Will you - ”

“Yes.”

“…” He blinked a couple of times. “What?”

“You heard me.” She was smirking now, but the wonder in her expression hadn’t faded. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

The nerves that had been knotted in his stomach all morning finally unraveled. “Maybe you should let me finish the question,” he teased.

“Are you going to go down on one knee?”

“I don’t need to. I’d rather see eye-to-eye with you.” She rolled her eyes at the bad joke, but that didn’t deter him from leaning in and brushing his nose against hers. “Lightning Farron,” he murmured. “You make me the happiest I’ve ever been. I want to feel this way forever with you.”

Since he already knew her answer, Hope gently took the box that was still curled in her hand and plucked the ring from it, carefully sliding it onto her ring finger. It sparkled there perfectly. “Will you marry me?”

Lightning flexed her fingers a few times, getting used to the feel of the ring there. She touched it with her thumb, like she needed to make sure that it was real. He couldn’t blame her.

Even though he already knew her answer, the smile on her face spoke volumes. Still, he heard it again before she tilted her head and carefully sought out his lips.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii I'm on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com)~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope gives Lightning an incredible gift for the holidays, if only to see her smile in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dedicated to an awesome friend of mine who's been ridiculously kind this year and KNOWS WHO HE IS~*~ He really likes this universe, so I thought I'd add to it as a present :D

Somehow, Lightning could always tell when he was deep in thought.

For most people, this was easy, since Hope got an extremely furrowed brow and a certain kind of frown on his face when he was thinking. They could take once glance and know that his mind was a million miles away and that they needed a minute to get his attention.

It was extraordinary that his girlfriend could tell, though, since she couldn't really spare him a glance – at least with her _eyes..._

“You're humming to yourself,” Lightning said. Her voice was always enough to snap Hope out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“The humming.” She smirked, moving her hand a bit before it found the cup in front of her. Her grip tightened a bit before she tentatively lifted it and sipped her coffee. “It means you're thinking about something, so out with it.”

“Oh.” Hope smiled, leaning down and brushing their noses together in warning before a kiss came. “Just thinking about holiday plans. It's practically December.”

“Hmm.” Lightning tilted her head, probably mentally calculating the days. “You're right. Any ideas?”

“Not really.” Hope wasn't all that close to his father and didn't have many close friends, unless he counted the employees at the coffee shop he owned. This would be his first holiday in a serious relationship. “Do you normally do anything?”

“Usually I'm with Serah and Snow. We'd get up early and exchange gifts like little kids.” Lightning smiled at the memory, but it slowly faded, which made Hope panic a little. He hated seeing her frown. “That was when Serah and I lived together, though. I don't know if she'd wanted to spend the night here or vice versa.”

“Maybe she would,” Hope said, although he didn't sound too enthused about the idea. Serah and Snow had been together forever, but it'd be their first holiday as a married couple and Hope was sure they'd want to be alone, at least for a little while.

Lightning seemed to read his mind. “Right. I don't want to intrude or make them feel like they have to.”

“We could probably see them for dinner or something.” Hope said down, the scrape of his chair making Lightning turn more in his direction. “Uh, no pun intended.”

She smirked. “You know, I'm _almost_ getting used to those.”

“Almost?”

“Yes. I might need to stick around longer to find out how much more I can take.”

He grinned. “Well, Light...” he said, taking one of her hands and leaning in a bit, “feel free to stick around as long as you'd like.”

There was a smile on her lips as they kissed gently, her mouth sweet with all the sugar she typically put in her coffee. It was a taste he'd never get tired of in a thousand years...and he never would with the _rest_ of her either...

“BARK!”

They both jumped and broke apart at the interruption. Hope immediately caught sight of a golden retriever, who was obediently sitting and wagging his tail, looking up at his master with one of those doggie smiles.

“Odin,” Lightning murmured, reaching out a bit and relaxing her hand when it met his fur. “It's past time for you to go out, isn't it?”

“Want me to take him?”

“I've got it.” Lightning stood and pushed her chair in, hand drifting along the wall until she came to the alcove where she kept Odin's harness. She effortlessly strapped him in, and though Odin still looked excited to be going out, he was instantly at attention the moment it was on. “We'll be back in a bit. I might take him for a little walk, too.”

“Okay – wait, hold on.” Hope quickly went to her and tapped her jaw before capturing a kiss. “Want to continue that when you get back?”

She smirked at him, her eyes boring into his in that way he still didn't know how she pulled off. “...On one condition.”

“Oh?”

With a little chuckle, she opened the door and let Odin help her outside. “Only if you make dinner.”

“Wha – hey!” he cried, but his protests were lost when Lightning and Odin disappeared down the stairs, though he could've sworn she was laughing at him.

–

A few nights later, Hope found himself wondering about holiday plans again. It was just when he was about to ask Lightning her ideas that he found her in the living room, the TV turned to a recording of an old ballet. He would've thought nothing of this, but there was a wistful little smile on her face that made him curious and he wasn't about to ignore his love.

“Hey, Light.” He moseyed to the couch. “Mind of I join you?”

“Of course not.” Her voice sounded quieter than normal, but clearly she wasn't that lost in thought since she automatically leaned against him when he settled down on the couch next to her.

He was quiet for a minute as he stared at the screen – it looked like _The Nutcracker_ to him, but then again, he wasn't a huge theater or ballet fan and they all looked the same in his eyes. Plus, there wasn't any sort of audio description like there was when Lightning actually found things she wanted to watch. It was just them, the screen, and the music.

“...Light?”

“This is stupid,” she immediately replied, fumbling for the remote. “I'll change it if you want.”

“No, don't. It's fine.” Hope wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “But can I ask why you put this on?” Lightning usually went for gory crime dramas, maybe because she didn't have to see any of the gore.

“I was flipping through the channels and I heard this,” she said after a long pause. “It...reminded me of something.”

“Of what?”

Lightning was quiet again for a minute before she answered. “When I was younger, I was fascinated with ballet. I like the dancers and the music drew me in.” She kind of smiled a bit. “I was a very... _girly_ little girl, if you can believe that.”

“I can.” Hope smiled to himself, picturing the lacy, frilly dresses he'd once seen photos of her in. “Did you want to be a ballerina?”

“At first. I took a few lessons, but I was more interested in the person who played the piano during them and I told my mother I wanted to learn to play the piano instead.” She sighed. “But you know that never happened. Money got tight, for one reason or another.” She suddenly reached over and took his hand.

“Light...”

“Since I was still so fascinated with theaters and ballet and everything, my mother promised me that she'd save and save, so that when I was sixteen, we could all go see a big, fancy performance for the holidays.”

_Sixteen._ Hope's breath caught in his throat. “You never...”

She shook her head. “You know the accident happened when I was fifteen. And ever since then, the idea's fallen by the wayside.” She huffed to herself. “I guess there wouldn't be much point to it now, anyway. I could hear the music, obviously, but half of it is being able to see what's going on.”

He had no idea what to say to that, really. In a way, she was right – if you paid to see a performance at a theater, you expected the whole deal, not just being able to picture things in your mind. Surely some places would offer an audio description service, like they did at a few movie theaters they'd been to, but it wasn't quite the same for a live show, he was sure.

Even more than that, for as long as he'd known Lightning, he'd rarely seen her treat her blindness as anything more than a fact or life or merely an inconvenience. But now she looked... _sad_ about it for the first time he could recall.

And if there was one thing Hope had promised himself when he'd fallen for her so completely, it was to make sure she was never sad again.

“Would you still want to go to one? If you could?”

She sighed and leaned against him, humming as he pressed a kiss to her hair. “I guess so, if it were possible for me to enjoy it the way it was supposed to. I've just never really thought about it until now.”

“It's the time of year everyone wants to see one, I guess.”

“I suppose.” She lifted her head a bit and leaned forward, an invitation for him to close the space between their lips. “At least you taught me some piano. I'll be forever grateful for that.”

“Anything for you, Light.”

And he meant it, because surely there was _something_ he could do to keep that promise of anything.

–

Hope felt like he spent the next two weeks on the phone, calling and asking and researching, but he was pretty sure that it had all paid off.

At least...hopefully it had. He wasn't entirely sure what Lightning would think, but he was crossing his fingers for all good things.

Starting...now.

“Hey, Light?”

“Hm?” She paused, a mug of tea halfway towards her lips. She'd just gotten back from taking Odin for a walk.

“There's somewhere I'd like to bring you tonight,” he said carefully. Though Lightning never had any qualms about going anywhere with him, he knew she always got a little nervous in new places, even with Odin. It was quite understandable, really, since it was harder for her to map out a layout in her mind and be completely comfortable.

To his surprise, she seemed intrigued. “Really? Where?”

He wanted to keep the element of surprise, so he went and gently brushed a lock of hair aside before kissing her forehead. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. It made his heart soar.

“Then let me keep it a secret.” He grinned and nudged her nose with his before a kiss came.

“Mysterious. Hmm...” she murmured in the space between their lips before she kissed him again. “Do I get a hint?”

Here was another part he was hesitant about. “I, uh, actually splurged and bought you a dress that'd be appropriate. I know you like to do your own clothes shopping or have Serah help you, but - ”

“But I trust you,” she interrupted, pulling back a bit with one of those strange stares that always seemed to pierce right through him. “And I suspect you know my taste as well as Serah does. What color is it?”

“Dark blue.” He'd always thought that color went really well with her skin and hair. “I left it hanging on the back of the bedroom door.”

She immediately got to her feet and headed there, her fingertips brushing against the walls to guide her way. Hope followed with nervous anticipation, glad that she couldn't see how terrified his expression was. If she hated the dress, that might spell disaster for the rest of the evening.

But Serah had given it a thumbs up, so maybe it'd be okay. He knew nothing about fashion, so she'd helped him pick it out – it was made of soft, smooth fabric and had long sleeves with a V-neck and wraparound waist. The skirt would fall in graceful folds a couple of inches above her knees, which was nice because he never got tired of her legs. Or her anything else, really.

Lightning's hand stilled when she felt the dress on the door, her fingers slow as she mapped out the shape, the feel of the fabric, all the details. For a long time, she didn't say anything, and Hope kept shifting his feet, watching her face for a reaction.

Finally, he was rewarded with a smile.

“I like it.” She reached up and plucked the hanger from off the door. “Wherever we're going, at least I'll look okay.”

He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. “Light, take it from me...” In an instant, he was right there for another kiss. “You always look beautiful.”

“You're biased.” She smirked and kissed him again. Funny how they couldn't seem to stop doing that.

“It's the truth!”

“To you, maybe.”

She hushed any retorts from him with her lips, and Hope couldn't help but wrap his arms around her waist, mindful of the dress still in her hands, and pull her close. Honestly, if he hadn't spent so long putting this evening together, he would've loooved to forget about it and indulge in her over and over...

“You're distracting me,” she muttered during a pause, though she didn't sound all that annoyed. “When are we leaving for whatever you have planned?”

“Hmmm...” He didn't answer right away in favor of another kiss, though afterwards he actually did crane his neck to look at the clock on his nightstand. “We don't have to leave for another few hours.”

“It doesn't take me that long to get ready,” she murmured. “And I have to get undressed anyway...”

“Light, this is your night.” He took the dress and hung it back up before immediately pulling her close again. “Your wish is my command.”

She smirked. “Let's see how you feel about that in a minute.”

He grinned and kissed her smirk. “Anything for you.”

–

Hope was glad that they needed to drive to their destination, because if they'd had to walk, they _definitely_ would've been late.

“It's not my fault you know what I like,” Lightning replied when he mentioned as much. He just chuckled, reaching over the center console to squeeze her hand.

“I like to think I do.” That counted the rest of tonight, hopefully.

At a stoplight, Hope glanced over at his ridiculously beautiful girlfriend. The dress fit her like a glove, which was a relief. Since it was a blue color, she'd styled her hair with a sapphire clip – something that'd belonged to her mother, apparently. She'd even put on a bit of makeup, which she rarely bothered with.

There was zero doubt that Lightning didn't need any of those bells and whistles, but when she put everything together, the effect was dazzling. If he didn't have to drive, he wouldn't have been able to look away.

Maybe when she found out her surprise, he'd be rewarded with another smile to go with it.

“So are you going to tell me where we're going?” she asked.

Speak of the devil. He pulled into a parking spot, not surprised that the lot was barely full. It was early in the evening, after all. “Well, we're here, so why don't you come and find out?”

“Hmph.” She didn't seem mad, though, and easily climbed out of the car, waiting for Hope. He'd advised her not to bring Odin - though he did have her cane folded up in his pocket just in case - so hopefully his arm would be enough.

As they went inside the enormous, ornate building, Hope watched out of the corner of his eye. Lightning seemed to be listening intently, her fingers brushing against the walls as they walked around. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and he couldn't help but smile at the confused expression on her face. Hopefully soon things would come to light.

“Hang on, I need to ask for someone,” he told her before he stopped, waiting a moment to make sure she didn't stumble or anything. When she remained quiet, he called out, “Excuse me? I'm looking for Mr. Amodar?”

A second later, someone came out from behind the front desk, a wide grin on his face. “Ah, Mr. Estheim and Ms. Farron?”

“That'd be us.” Hope shook Mr. Amodar's hand with his free one, and after a pause, Lightning awkwardly put her hand out as well.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I'm afraid I don't know what any of this is about.”

“Keeping it a secret, huh?” Amodar chuckled at Hope's nod. “Well, just come on back when you're ready. I've got one of the ushers around to show you where to go.”

“Thank you very much.” Hope gently nudged Lightning's shoulder with her own. “We'll be back there in a minute.”

“Take your time! It's a real honor to be doing this.”

Lightning waited until Amodar's footsteps had faded away before she turned her head towards Hope. “I think I know where we are.”

“Hmmm.” He gently tugged on her arm, an indication for them to start walking. “You do?”

“Yes.” She held her hand out to the side, her fingers brushing over the walls, the doorframe, and as they proceeded further, the rough upholstery of seats. “The question is _why.”_

“I have my reasons.” He squeezed her arm. “But do you really want an explanation or do you want to figure it out for yourself?”

“Just confirm my guess that we're at that old theater outside of town.”

“Got it in one.” He wondered if she'd been here since she'd lost her vision, and if not, how she could have known so easily.

She merely hummed, and at first Hope wondered if this had been such a good idea. Sure, Lightning wasn't the type of person to jump and down in glee when she was happy, but she wasn't giving off any indication that she was all that excited to be here.

At least until they reached the stage.

There were just the bare minimum of lights on, so it looked almost spooky. It was hard to believe that mere hours from now it'd be filled with dancers and scenery. Right now, it seemed vast and bleak.

But when Lightning put her hand on the smooth finish of the wood, feeling how tall it was and how far it was from the seats, the way her eyes lit up proved to be brighter than any stage lights.

“We're really here,” she said quietly. “I never thought I'd ever get this close to a stage.”

Hope took her hand and kissed the back of it. “That's not all.”

After checking with the usher that Mr. Amodar had mentioned, they carefully climbed the stairs up to the stage and walked around. Maybe it was an effect from being with Lightning for so long, but he could actually _feel_ the difference under his feet. There was a sort of echo and weightlessness compared to being on the floor that was just _different_.

Lightning smiled and gripped his arm. “We're on the stage, aren't we?”

“Yeah. We're in the middle of it right now. I think it's kind of a small stage compared to other theaters.”

“It's probably still really daunting to perform up here.”

“True.”

They stood there for a bit, letting her really get a sense of it all, until he tugged on her arm again. “C'mon.”

She arched a brow. “There's more?”

“A lot more.”

He led them backstage, Lighting's fingers brushing along the curtains as they went. A young girl with her hair already tied up in a tight bun looked up, probably about to kick them out, but comprehension seemed to dawn and she smiled. “Are you Mr. Amodar's guests?”

“Yes.” Once again, Hope held out his hand. “I'm Hope. This is my girlfriend, Lightning.”

“How exciting!” The girl shook their hands. “I don't think we've ever done one of these since I've been dancing with this company.”

Lightning frowned in confusion. “Done one of what?”

The girl beamed. “A touch tour!”

“....Excuse me?”

“Tonight we'll be performing _The Nutcracker._ It's the holiday season, you know – so we've got a bunch of the props and all the costumes out. Well, not _all_ of them, but the most important. You'll be able to touch Clara's dress and the Mouse King's mask for sure - ”

As the girl went on and on, Lightning's confused expression gradually gave way to comprehension and then _awe._ It may have been the lighting back here, but he could've sworn her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

But she blinked and they were gone. The girl had flounced off, going to talk to another dancer and explaining why there were two random people backstage. Since she presumably sensed they were alone now, Lightning turned to Hope, making a grab for his hand that he gladly met.

“You did this for me?” Her voice was steady as always, but threatening to waver with emotion.

“I hope you don't think it's silly.” He squeezed her hand. “After you told me that story about how you never got to see a ballet, I started looking up stuff to see if there were ways someone sight-impaired could see it. Uh, so to speak.” He chuckled. “I knew that an audio description probably wouldn't really cut it, so I found out that a lot of places do these 'touch tours.' I got a hold of Mr. Amodar – I had to make a zillion calls to finally talk to him, he's the manager of the building – but once I explained, he and the director of the show were totally for it. I figured that if you got an actual _feel_ for what the costumes and props were like, it'd be easier to see it in your mind that way when you hear the music, plus I just - ”

His rambling was cut off when she suddenly flung her arms around him, nearly knocking him off his feet with the force of her hug...which was definitely _not_ like her at all, but he gladly returned the embrace after the shocked subsided, holding her as closely as possible.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “This is beyond anything I could've asked for.”

 

He smiled into her hair. “Technically, you didn't ask for it.” She lightly whapped his back and he laughed. “I just...really wanted to make you happy, Light. I wish I could give you my sight for an evening so you could experience the show the way you always wanted to, but this was the best I could think of.”

“Shut up or I'll do something stupid like cry.” As it was, when she finally let go of him, her eyes were strangely glassy and she had to blink it away. He only smiled again and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Come on. Let's get you acquainted with the show.”

He stayed close every time she touched a costume, held a prop, felt the bumps of paint on the scenery under her fingertips. With every new discovery, her expression grew more and more awed. Though he did join in a couple of times to touch the costumes – some of those outfits were a _lot_ heavier than they looked and he wondered how the heck anybody could dance in them – mostly he just watched emotions play across Lightning's face.

A few of the dancers who hadn't yet gotten into makeup even allowed her to map out their faces, which surprised and pleased him. Ever since he and Lightning had become official, he'd gotten too used to people treating her with a kind of fake, sickly-sweet niceness simply because she was blind. They always meant well, but it'd leave a bad taste in his mouth and put Lightning in a sullen mood for hours afterwards.

This, though, was different. Everyone back here seemed genuinely excited to show her everything they could and kept saying what an honor it was to do this. Maybe they were performing, but he didn't think so.

And the smile on Lightning's face said that she believed it was all real, too.

–

Though the theater did offer an audio description service, Lightning opted not to use it that evening. Instead, at every change in scene, Hope would lean in and whisper who was onstage and what was happening. His reward was always a soft little smile as she would listen, undoubtedly letting the feel of the costumes and props fill in the blank spaces in her mind. Much to her – and his – surprise, one dancer had even let Lightning try on a pair of old ballet slippers, so it was easier to form the whole picture and imagine what it must be like to dance onstage.

Hope had admittedly never had much interest in theater or ballet, but he had to admit that he was captivated by the music and the show before him. Then again, maybe he had the advantage of seeing what awed expressions crossed Lightning's face, which honestly added to his enjoyment of everything.

“It's incredible,” she murmured at one point in between acts. “If I concentrate, I can hear when they land a jump or they're doing some kind of spin.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The stage echos in a certain way.” She leaned against him. “I don't think I would've been able to separate that from the music if you hadn't taken me up onstage and showed me.”

At least that was the perfect confirmation that this _had_ been a good idea.

Nobody clapped harder than Lightning when the show was over. She remained in her seat long after the curtains had closed and people were still milling around, talking and leaving. He simply held her hand, waiting until she gave the okay.

When she finally spoke, her voice was thick emotion. “I know I said it already, but I don't think I could have asked for anything more than this. Tonight was...” She squeezed his hand. “It was perfect. It was as though I _could_ actually see what was happening.” Her eyes were glassy again when she looked up at him. “Thank you so much for doing this for me. I think...for the first time, I'm actually okay with the accident taking so much from me. Not once this whole evening did I wish in the back of my mind that I had my sight back.” She reached up for him, her fingertips grasping air until they touched his jaw. “Because I have _you._ ”

Hope had never imagined that she could possibly stun him into silence, and yet here they were. Of course he figured that something like this would mean a lot to her, but for her to say something like _that..._

“Hope?”

“I... I'm just...” he trailed off, staring at her ridiculously beautiful face, wondering how he'd gotten so lucky to be with someone who also had such a ridiculously beautiful heart. “I'm amazed you'd think that,” he finally said, leaning in to gently kiss her. He smiled into it, which he was sure she could feel. “All I want is to make you happy.”

“You're definitely doing a good job of that.” She smiled, leaning up to kiss him again.

He was pretty sure they were going to be kicked out of the theater any minute, but that didn't stop him from initiating another kiss. “Kinda makes me wonder, though.”

“Wonder what?”

“How I'm going to top this next year.”

She chuckled. “I'm not sure if you can, but you're welcome to try.”

There was time for one more kiss before they were kicked out, he was sure. In between their lips, he made sure to breathe a promise for her ears only.

“Then I'll try forever, because that's how long I'll be with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GASP I actually have some notes besides my usual fuckery lol
> 
> \- The touch tours are a real thing! I admittedly didn't go too in depth into research, but some theaters will do such a thing for someone visually impaired. I imagine it'd be really nice/useful for something like a ballet, where the story's told through dance and visual cues. At least with movies and a lot of other media, you get the benefit of dialogue to tell the story, so an audio description service would probably be a better choice......I'm just supposing here though, I don't personally know anybody who's blind or otherwise visually impaired so I apologize for any gross assumptions 8))))
> 
> \- so like as I was writing this, I realized that I've never actually seen The Nutcracker.....not live or otherwise. LOL it seems like such a ubiquitous thing, at least in the US, but???? I've seen parts of it, but all I remember is the sugar plum fairy and something about mice kings so uh lolol
> 
> \- I was never a theater kid, but I was friends with a ton and there's no way in hell that they'd do any sort of tour like this hours before a performance. They'd boot you out on sight LOL. In real life, they'd probably do it a day before because performance days are apparently total insanity. But hey, this is fanfic land, so there's my excuse for creative license pffft
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HOLIDAYS THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING SO GREAT <3333333333
> 
> I'm still on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com), come say hi~

**Author's Note:**

> heyyy I'm on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com) if you wanna say hi <333


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